savoring the beauty in the everyday

Harry Potter and the Periodic Rereads

Although I am an Anglophile, a bibliophile and a fan of young adult literature, I spent several years as a Harry Potter skeptic. I first heard about the books when a family friend, a school superintendent, read the early ones and praised them. But I wasn’t sure I’d really like them – wizards? Spells? Some kind of game played on brooms? Sounded a bit too fantastical for me.

During my first semester in Oxford, several friends were thrilled to tour Christ Church because its dining hall serves as the Great Hall in the Harry Potter films. Privately, I scoffed at their excitement. Didn’t they love this elegant, historic building for its own sake? (Yes, I know. I couldn’t stand me, either.)

Finally, Valerie convinced me to give Philosopher’s Stone a chance. “Just try it,” she begged, pushing it across her coffee table on a hot August afternoon. “If you hate it, I swear I’ll leave you alone. But if you love it, come back and you can borrow the rest of the series.”

Two days later I was back on her doorstep, holding out the book I’d just finished and begging to borrow the next one. I finished Prisoner of Azkaban the following week, sitting at Val’s kitchen table, and as soon as I read the last page, I leaped up and pounded down the hall to her bedroom, to squeal and exclaim and discuss. I had enjoyed the first two books, but the last 80 or so pages of the third one break the plot wide open, forcing readers to reexamine many things they thought they knew. Suddenly, this story was bigger and deeper – and darker – than I could previously have imagined. (Val, bless her, never so much as said “I told you so.”)

Recently, I spent a couple of weeks immersed in what I think is my sixth reread of the series. And I love it more than ever.

It’s fascinating to reread a series from the beginning after I know the end (though it was fun to wait with bated breath for the sixth and seventh books, with millions of other fans). I can glimpse Rowling’s grand design from the first pages of Philosopher’s Stone, and I know to look for the signs and hints she weaves into the buildup of Harry’s story. I notice the repetition of certain symbols, key phrases, even verbs. These books are full of action, and the verbs “seized,” “bellowed,” “roared,” “dashed,” get quite a workout.

I love tracing the familiar, twisting path from number four, Privet Drive, to Hogwarts and back again, learning about the wizarding world alongside a wide-eyed Harry, taking in the delights of Diagon Alley and meeting the Hogwarts students, staff and ghosts. I love the flashes of humor that pop up regularly (often in the form of Fred and George, whom I adore). From Zonko’s to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes to various clever spells, it’s obvious Rowling had so much fun creating this magical world. And Dumbledore had it right: the heart of the series, the great secret that gives the story its power, is love.

Harry has grown up mostly ignored by the Dursleys, but his mother’s love and protection thrums through his veins in his very blood. Somehow, his years with his relatives haven’t erased his compassion: he is kind, loyal and honorable, although he has a temper and a stubborn independent streak (he is no angel, but rather endearingly human). His parents’ love saved his life, and his love for his friends saves more than one life throughout the series, as the stakes rise higher and higher, and more people are forced to risk their necks for those they care about.

I love the Order of the Phoenix, how these wizards from varying backgrounds band together to fight against Lord Voldemort, though for all they know, it might be a losing battle. I love how the Weasleys take Harry in as another son, how the members of the DA stand up for him and for each other, how Ron and Hermione stay with him until the very end. I love how the story keeps growing in depth and scope, until it becomes truly epic, a battle for the very future of the world we all hold dear.

Every once in a while, I get a hankering to return to Hogwarts, to spend a week or two in this world filled with magic (of various kinds). The best rereading combines the comfort of familiarity with new moments of insight each time, and Harry’s story provides both, in ample measure.

Do you reread favorite books or series? Have you read the Harry Potter books?

18 Responses

The world of Hogwarts came to our family at the perfect time. Second grade. With a young, but already avid reader, that was intimidated by such a big “chapter book”, I read aloud the first 5 chapters. At which time, she reached for the book and said, “Momma, could I just have that, please?” Hurray!! She poured through the books. She and her friends…and just one year later, her sister…memorized every detail. What a magical time!! What a wonderful way to launch into reading!! These books will always hold a special place in our hearts.

I keep at least a couple of the Harry Potter audiobooks on my phone at all times, just in case. I read through the series a few times, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to the audiobooks. I’m almost always in the middle of one or another. Lately, I’ve taken to listening while I run (currently on The Goblet of Fire), so I get a little dose of Hogwarts every morning.

I am also a devoted fan and enjoy re-reading and re-discussing Harry Potter with other lovers! I must say I was a little skeptical before reading it first also. I enjoyed the first volume, but it didn’t hit me off as something extraordinary. But I progressed to read the subsequent parts, I got hooked on.

I read the first parts in my native tongue (Polish), in a wonderful translation but then turned to English to taste the original juiciness.

I love how Harry Potter grows and the character evolves. I felt growing as the reader together with them. Sometimes

I am a bit disappointed with how the Christian world reacted to the novels, often saying unfair and prejudiced things about the books. I think “Harry Potter” show all the traditional values of children’s literature and like you write Katie, teaches us about loyalty, goodness and kindness, and yet shows the different shades of the human nature, and that we are all weak and strong at the same time.

I have to admit I have resisted the Harry Potter series and for the same reasons you cited in the beginning of your post. I am planning to read Rowlings new novel, “Casual Vacancy” for our book group. But I must admit after reading your post, I am reconsidering the Philosopher’s Stone. But the books are soooo huge and I worry about devoting my limited reading time to one book. Maybe…

I also avoided the series for the same reasons you did, but my husband finally gave them a go just after the fifth movie came out and sped through the entire series in what seemed like merely weeks. He insisted that I give them a try, and I was instantly hooked. Read through the last big ones in days, and I’m really not a fast reader–nor one without lots of other things to do. (So don’t let the size scare you away, Patricia!)

That first go-through, I read probably half of the books aloud to our young boys, and I’m doing it again now as I re-read the series (just finished Goblet of Fire the day before Thanksgiving and expected to take a break, but the boys requested Order of the Phoenix immediately, and I was glad to stay in the world too). I’ve also read and re-read the Narnia books in that fashion. Expect to re-read Lord of the Rings as well as Alexander McCall Smith’s Portugese Irregular Verbs and 44 Scotland Street series at some point too. Maybe it’s something about serial novels . . . or simply that these big stories (it bears more contemplation how Portugese Irregular Verbs and Lord of the Rings got lumped into this same category) say too much about humans and our world for just one read-through.

I completely agree with you. I’ve been reliving the Potter series with my daughter with the movies. But I’ve been going back and reading the books, which are so good. And you learn something new every time you read them. It is fun to read them all once you know the ending. I’m so glad Harry Potter lives on even though the books are done being written.

Every time a new Harry Potter book came out I would start at the beginning of the series, and so I guess I’ve read it 6 times. But not for a while, I should try again. A perfect winter time read. I’m in awe of this series, its so darned funny and clever. How can you not love a book when there is a broken wand, and spells that don’t turn out as planned – like when Ron winds up burping up slugs. That is just so great!

The other book series that I’ve read innumerable times is Anne of Green Gables. I think what I love most is her unsinkable spirit. I wish I was like that.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy has much the same hold over me. I have re-read them several times since being introduced to Tolkien as a teenager. The stories carry much the same appeal as Harry Potter – good vs. evil, memorable characters, and an epic conclusion. And with The Hobbit coming out in theaters soon, I need to get reading again 😉

I have reread the following books/series:
->Wanderlust (Danielle Steel)
->The Outlander Series (Diana Gabaldon) & will reread it again in time for the 8th book to come out next year (if school doesn’t do me in)
->Bible (twice all the way through)

And, I have “read” the Harry Potter series via audio. Jim Dale is the BEST at narrating a book (his Hagrid is pretty close to the movie Hagrid!) and I would like to read it again…when I’ve got some free time.

I love rereading a favorite book as I am constantly noticing new things I missed the first time around. And, even knowing the end, it’s pretty exciting to see how the book develops!

I have the last two books in my iTunes library and I listen to them periodically. The final book is my favorite one to revisit over and over. Snape was my favorite from the beginning. I disliked him at first with everyone, but he was always the most interesting teacher to me. I could never, at the beginning, figure out why he was so cruel, and learning that he, not Quirrell, had protected Harry during the Quidditch match put me staunchly on his side, even through the end of the Half-Blood Prince. I defended him to anyone who scoffed at him, and was vindicated by The Deathly Hallows.

As far as other books I reread regularly, Life of Pi, Ender’s Game, Speaker for the Dead (Ender’s sequel), and The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit frequently grace my bedside table. I also really like the YA novels from my high school years and have recently discovered The Last Unicorn, which I will definitely be reading to my children.

My teenage daughters begged me to read the first Harry Potter book during the fall of last year–they themselves came to the series late. Once I had read the first book, I was hooked and read the others one after the other. That period of time was so fun for us–the first time we had bonded over books since I had read the American Girl books to them in their elementary school years. Their dad felt a little left out when we would discuss the books over dinner, but we could never convince him to take the plunge! My oldest daughter started re-reading the series last week and it’s fun to see her joy in getting all caught up in that world again.

Great books are always worth another read. I love the HP series, and have read it through 3 times. Every summer, I read all the Jane Austen novels. I think I know most of them by heart. I like it that way.